Long Beach Show Report

ianrussell

Hi

I rarely write a show report - mainly because most business in the coin industry these days is done outside of coin shows, however, this Long Beach show warrants special attention. I started attending the Long Beach show in 2000, the show last week has to be one of the best I can remember.

The show organizers and PCGS went overboard in marketing.

My bullet point observations:

1. Ship of Gold. Really cool to see coins that were brought up from the ocean in their original form. Amazing coins, like the 1857-S $3 that PCGS graded MS-67. Beats previous finest known by 3 points. There's only 3 or 4 or 5 MS coins known. There were Territorial coins you've never seen in such quantity. The coins that have yet to be conserved. The original bags.

2. Tyrant Collection. This should really be #1. This was being hyped as the most valuable collection ever formed and up until Wednesday, I had my doubts (it was such a big claim). Well, it's phenomenal and exceeds the hype and might beat the most expensive collection ever formed by a LONG way. Only the British coins were on display and I heard from the show that the Tyrant Collection is going to display different coins from the collection over five years of Long Beach shows. That is 15 shows of new material on display. The British coins has to be the best British collection ever formed (outside of Royal Collection?) and I hear there is amazing U.S. and many other countries.

3. Attendance. From my point of view, attendance was up significantly. From Wednesday set-up through Saturday morning, we were non-stop busy. I won't write about the impressive coins/paper money consigned - but consignments were more than previous shows.

4. Special appearance by John Albanese. John rarely attends shows anymore, so it's always great to see him in person.

5. PCGS Crossover Special. This always attracts a lot of interest. It's a cheap way to try to cross a large quantity of coins - the % that crosses is lower, not really because of the flood of coins being submitted, mainly because you end up trying coins that have a lower chance to cross.

6. Timing. Being 6 weeks after the FUN show is perfect and there was no major show in between.

7. Coin-wise, I don't really want to comment on a lack of fresh coins/paper money etc. - there's always fresh coins on the market - sometimes more than others and so much is done outside of the show and in auctions today compared to 10-15 years ago. We had many fresh coins on display and accepted many on consignment as well (should be a press release about one consigned at the show in the next few weeks). Others had fresh coins too. Of course, we always want more and that is part of the problem - balancing the fresh supply with the fresh demand.

8. The market overall is much stronger compared to 12-18 months ago. We started to see it immediately after the election in 2016 with many different statistics internally at GreatCollections and it's been steadily increasing since. There's still some weak areas (not everything is higher), but if you look at the whole market, it's definitely stronger today.

Thanks to Cassi who runs the show and everyone involved!

• Ian

topstuf

Good to see GC making more inroads on the "other guys."

giorgio11

Thanks for the great report Ian and thanks as well for providing viable alternatives to the big traditional auction house model.

Kind regards,

George

Jimnight

Thanks for the report. I found it to be an enjoyable and interesting read.

Yorkshireman

Nice report, Ian. I wish I could have been there.

Walkerguy21D

Nice write up - thanks for taking the time to post it.

ricko

Excellent report Ian...Thank you for the detail. Cheers, RickO

mommam17

Thank You Ian

oih82w8

Thanks Ian for your insight for those of us who cannot make it that far West.

jonruns

Great report!!! Wish I had gone!!

Walkerfan

Thanks, for the report, Ian!

I appreciate your perspective.

ElmerFusterpuck

I consigned some coins at the show, but (ahem) mine is not part of the press release!

It was great meeting you at the show and hoping for many happy returns!

EagleEye

If I were to write a show report it would be exactly the same.

Except to add: The Ship of Gold and Tyrant collections would have been reason enough for any serious collector to fly across the country to attend a show. I hope more take advantage of the opportunity in the future.

the tyrant collection

This is the unique 2010 "Lennon" 5 pound coin:

Also there was a display of Beatles memorabilia which was quite outstanding.

Wabbit2313

Great report.

Zoins

The John Lennon coin is nice. I was wondering how a unique coin gets issued in modern times and read the following from the Bonhams auction. The coin was originally presented by The Royal Mint to Yoko Ono for her assistance in promoting the silver coin. Then it, it appears, Yoko may have had it sold on behalf of the Alder Hey Children's Hospital:

To be sold on behalf of the Alder Hey 'Imagine' Appeal, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool - A unique John Lennon commemorative Alderney £5 gold coin, 2010, alloy 22 carat gold, weight 39.94g, diameter 38.61mm, maximum coin mintage one, in fitted Royal Mint presentation case and box

FOOTNOTES
Designed by Danuta Solowej-Wedderburn, this was struck by the Royal Mint in 2010, following a poll to shortlist the next 'Great Briton' to feature on a limited edition coin. John Lennon was voted as the winner, with Jane Austen and Sir Walter Raleigh amongst the list of possibles. The silver proof coin sold out in a matter of days and as a gesture of thanks for the support Yoko Ono had shown the campaign, the Royal Mint struck this unique gold coin.

Presented to Yoko Ono and to be sold on behalf of the Alder Hey 'Imagine' Appeal, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool.

golden

Thanks for the nice show report.

BryceM

Thanks for the report. Sounds like one that would have been nice to attend.

As an aside, congrats on the business. I've been looking through the site more lately and the quantity and quality of your offerings are really impressive. It's good for collectors to have plenty of options.

SullivanNumismatics

Good report, and overall I concur. Although not my best show in in the last few years worth of Long Beach shows, it still was "ok", and the market seemed pretty good overall at the show.

shorecoll

That Lennon coin is stunning.

AngryTurtle

I was only there for one day (Friday), but I agree with Ian, it was the busiest I think I have seen. Ship of Gold was great to see, but dummy me forgot to take a look at the Tyrant collection.

tommy44

Thanks for posting such a informative and interesting report.

BLUEJAYWAY

@EagleEye said:
If I were to write a show report it would be exactly the same.

Except to add: The Ship of Gold and Tyrant collections would have been reason enough for any serious collector to fly across the country to attend a show. I hope more take advantage of the opportunity in the future.

the tyrant collection

This is the unique 2010 "Lennon" 5 pound coin:

Also there was a display of Beatles memorabilia which was quite outstanding.

Are there any photos of what was on display in ref. to The Beatles?

au58

The breadth of perspectives offered in your 8 points makes for a very interesting read.
Thank you.

ElmerFusterpuck

@BLUEJAYWAY said:

@EagleEye said:
If I were to write a show report it would be exactly the same.

Except to add: The Ship of Gold and Tyrant collections would have been reason enough for any serious collector to fly across the country to attend a show. I hope more take advantage of the opportunity in the future.

the tyrant collection

This is the unique 2010 "Lennon" 5 pound coin:

Also there was a display of Beatles memorabilia which was quite outstanding.

Are there any photos of what was on display in ref. to the Beatles?

Did someone say the Beatles?

sparky64

Excellent report and nice to get your perspective. Thanks.

You should do these reports more often, IMHO.

-Mark

1630Boston

Thanks for your insightful report Ian

Swampboy

Great report.
I'm really looking forward to attending a Long Beach show in the near future

TopoftheHill

Ian, thanks for the report. It would seem that the market...as determined by actual coin prices such as the PCGS 3000...is actually quite weaker today than 12 months ago. Comments?

BLUEJAYWAY

@ElmerFusterpuck said:

@BLUEJAYWAY said:

@EagleEye said:
If I were to write a show report it would be exactly the same.

Except to add: The Ship of Gold and Tyrant collections would have been reason enough for any serious collector to fly across the country to attend a show. I hope more take advantage of the opportunity in the future.

the tyrant collection

This is the unique 2010 "Lennon" 5 pound coin:

Also there was a display of Beatles memorabilia which was quite outstanding.

Are there any photos of what was on display in ref. to the Beatles?

Did someone say the Beatles?

Thanks for the photo.

BryceM

The PCGS report is based on data that often lags several months behind "reality". When the market dropped, it wasn't reflected in the PCGS3000 index for several months.

ianrussell

@TopoftheHill said:
Ian, thanks for the report. It would seem that the market...as determined by actual coin prices such as the PCGS 3000...is actually quite weaker today than 12 months ago. Comments?

I can only go by actual coin sales in our auctions (and other auctions) - overall the market is up. I'm first to say when I'm not certain about something, but in this case, I am certain it's up. We have a lot of statistics, showing new bidders, exact same coins selling 6-12 months apart (same cert #s), similar coins selling 6-12 months apart (different cert #s, same grade/grading services, similar quality coins), average dollars spent per invoice (for existing long term customers) etc.

• Ian

Gazes

Ian --- what areas do you see the greatest areas of strength? Thanks

Lakesammman

Wow - sounds like a great show. Would have enjoyed being there. Thanks for the report!

hchcoin

Great report Ian. Love Great Collections !

ianrussell

@Gazes said:
Ian --- what areas do you see the greatest areas of strength? Thanks

Strong areas:
1. CAC coins. The premiums are increasing.
2. Finest knowns or close to finest known. Example: classic commems that perhaps 1-2 coins have been graded 68 and there are 10-15 coins graded 67+. The 67+ coins are getting a lot of attention, even though they are not the finest known.
3. Circulated 20th Century coins that rarely appear on the market.
4. Super low mintage coins, where few exist. Like this coin we sold on Sunday - 1870-CC $5 Gold Half Eagle graded PCGS F-15. At $12,150 hammer (plus buyer's fee), I think a strong price, but it's a rare coin that doesn't appear on the market very often. At this price, it's an all-time record for the date/grade - this isn't saying much, since there has been only three similar recorded sales over the past 20 years, the last being over a decade ago. If you look at higher graded items selling for less, that gives a good perspective and confirms the strength.
5. Even key dates coins in nice grades are strong. We sold a 1942/1 Mercury Dime graded PCGS MS-65 FB CAC a few weeks ago for $52,016, which is also an all-time record for the date/grade, CAC or not.
6. In the world arena, modern British gold is very strong. China seems to be heating up.

Weak areas:
1. Certain modern issues where market-makers have disappeared. Good value in many issues at small premiums over melt.
2. Pre-1933 gold. Two subcategories of this. a. Generics. Premiums are ridiculously low. Now better in my opinion than holding modern gold eagles as a bullion play. and b. coins like $20 Libs in higher grades where the populations have increased due to the large quantities being brought back from Europe.
3. Note, I have taken off Barber and Seated material from the weak list and it's almost added to the strong areas. I didn't add that because they are so cheap still and even though many prices are higher, they are not high enough to say "strong" yet. I personally like this area the best.

I'm sure I left off some areas on both lists - but gives you an idea of how I see it based on our auctions at GreatCollections.

• Ian

golden

Thanks for your market update.

TopoftheHill

Ian~

Thanks for the reply and the very detailed report on strong and weak areas. Much appreciated!

Great Collections rocks!!